Author: diggerdan

War is a Crime – by David Swanson

You laugh, but that could be a side-effect.  Consider:

The Capitol Police just murdered an unarmed mother fleeing her car on foot, declared her child “unharmed,” and received the longest standing-ovation in Congress since Osama bin Laden’s Muslim sea burial.  Try holding your breath until Congress takes the standing ovation back, and you’ll wish your were in the “Holy Land” having your house sprayed with “Skunk” artificial sewage by the Israeli military or in Old Town Alexandria tasting the air of the authentic raw sewage across the river until it’s “treated” and spread on farms in the exurbs for the benefit of we the people.   Continue reading “Is The Federal Government A Drug-Induced Hallucination?”

The Associated Press

Century Link – by CHARLES BABINGTON – Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A rare flash of bipartisanship Saturday served as a cruel tease to those hoping Congress is moving toward reopening the government and averting an unprecedented default on the federal debt in less than two weeks.

Only two days after House Speaker John Boehner raised hopes by telling colleagues he won’t let the nation go into default, key members of both parties conceded that no one has presented a plausible plan for avoiding it. Instead, they continued to bicker and to ponder the chasm between two warring parties, each of which seems convinced it’s on the winning side morally and politically.   Continue reading “Bipartisan vote on back pay belies shutdown chasm”

Mother Jones – by Dave Gilson

Continue reading “Of Mice and Mud The allure of the quick solution”

Information Clearinghouse – by Norman Solomon

To the people in control of the Executive Branch, violating our civil liberties is an essential government service. So — to ensure total fulfillment of Big Brother’s vast responsibilities — the National Security Agency is insulated from any fiscal disruption.

The NSA’s surveillance programs are exempt from a government shutdown. With typical understatement, an unnamed official told The Hill that “a shutdown would be unlikely to affect core NSA operations.”   Continue reading “The NSA Deserves a Permanent Shutdown”

Information Clearinghouse – by UPI

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 27 (UPI) — Israel’s military chiefs are pushing for a bump in the $3.1 billion a year the Jewish state receives in U.S. military aid even though the 10-year agreement doesn’t expire until 2017 and America is struggling with domestic economic issues.

Among other things, the Israelis are citing a 2008 U.S. law that for the first time legally committed Washington to maintain the Jewish state’s technological superiority — its Qualitative Military Edge, or QME, in military terminology — over its regional adversaries, particularly Iran, which has been pursuing nuclear technology.  Continue reading “Israel Starts Campaign to Boost U.S. Military Aid”

The Independent – by Sarah Morrison

The supermarket giant Tesco has apologised for advertising an inflatable “gay best friend” doll on its website. The figure was described as being “ready to give you fashion advice, tell you if your bum looks big and b**ch about everyone who doesn’t wear Jimmy Choos”.

Goes to show that you never never call the cops.

New York Daily News – by Joe Kemp

A Missouri man arrested during a scuffle with emergency workers who were attending to his suicidal daughter says he’s still fighting the charges six months later.

Kevin Russell said he and his son were handcuffed to a bench in a Joplin police station as his 16-year-old daughter, Brooke, died March 17 at a nearby hospital.   Continue reading “Missouri man arrested after spat with EMT responding to daughter’s suicide, held for more than three hours before he learns girl died”

The Ugly Truth

Syrian president says West is only seeking to strip him of his chemical weapons in order to tip balance of power in Jerusalem’s favor

TIMES OF ISRAEL

Syria has deterrent weapons, more advanced than anything in its chemical arsenal, that could blindside Israel in mere moments, Syrian President Bashar Assad claimed Thursday.   Continue reading “Assad: We have weapons that could blindside Israel”

Washington’s Blog – by DavidSwanson

1. President Obama’s opening lines at the U.N. on Tuesday looked down on people who would think to settle disputes with war. Obama was disingenuously avoiding the fact that earlier this month he sought to drop missiles into a country to “send a message” but was blocked by the U.S. Congress, the U.N., the nations of the world, and popular opposition — after which Obama arrived at diplomacy as a last resort.   Continue reading “Top 45 Lies in Obama’s Speech at UN”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Submitted by Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

I’m doing God’s work.
– Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein in a November 2009 interview

It’s war. It’s like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.
– Steve Schwarzman, Chairman and co-founder of Blackstone, on potential tax changes in 2010   Continue reading “AIG CEO Compares Anger At Wall Street Bonuses To The Lynching Of Black People In The South”

TruthDig – by Chris Hedges

I have spent time with mass killers, warlords and death squad leaders as a reporter in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. Some are psychopaths who relish acts of sadism, torture and murder. But others, maybe most, see killing as a job, a profession, good for their careers and status. They enjoy playing God. They revel in the hypermasculine world of force where theft and rape are perks. They proudly refine the techniques of murder to snuff out one life after another, largely numb to the terror and cruelty they inflict. And, when they are not killing, they can sometimes be disarmingly charming and gracious. Some are decent fathers and sentimental with their wives and mistresses. Some dote on their pets.   Continue reading “The Act of Killing”

The Guardian – by Glenn Greenwald

I’m still working at trying to get the next set of NSA stories published. That, combined with a rapidly approaching book deadline, will make non-NSA-article postings difficult for the next couple of weeks. Until then, here are a few items to note regarding a point I have often tried to make: namely, one of the most overlooked aspects of the NSA reporting in the US has been just how global of a story this has become:

(1) Last week it was revealed that Belgium’s largest telecom, Belgacom, was the victim of a massive hacking attack which systematically compromised its system for as long as two years. Media outlets suspected that the NSA was behind it, and the country’s Prime Minister condemned the attack as a “violation of a public company’s integrity.”   Continue reading “Various items: NSA stories around the world”

The Jewish Daily Forward

The top security official for Jewish organizations was named to a consulting body to the Department of Homeland Security.

Paul Goldenberg, the director of the Secure Community Network, was appointed to a three-year term on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

The Jewish Federations of North America, a sponsor of the SCN, announced Goldenberg’s appointment on Monday, which was made by Janet Napolitano before she resigned earlier this month as secretary of Homeland Security.  Continue reading “Jewish ‘Expert’ Named to Homeland Security Panel”